


campfires.

by candybaeks



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:41:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27680177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/candybaeks/pseuds/candybaeks
Summary: Chanyeol had an accident that awakened his super power. The first one who noticed is the nurse, Baekhyun, who's tending to him, and coincidentally he has a superpower of his own. Baekhyun then teaches Chanyeol how to live his life again as a new person, accepting his power.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol
Comments: 3
Kudos: 19
Collections: Magika Astra: Round 1





	campfires.

It had been a hard day at the office. Tie loosened, jacket off, and shirt untucked, Chanyeol shifted the car into drive and headed out of the parking lot. His mind was only settled on one thing––returning home. The clock on his car stereo read 11pm, about 2 hours overtime. The paperwork had piled up to the point it left him leaving at a time in which he'd rather not be out.

11 pm on a Friday night. Many college students had pre-gamed themselves to the point of near alcohol poisoning by now-–next would be heading to the party itself to get even more blackout drunk. The worst time to be on the road.

One hand gripped the steering wheel tightly while the other turned on the radio, hoping music would soothe his nerves. His apartment was approximately 20 minutes from his work building. All Chanyeol had to do was get there without colliding with drunk teens, or even drunk or drugged up adults––who knew who was out and about, he hadn't let himself be out passed 10 pm maximum if he could help it on the weekends, but he couldn't've planned getting 300 papers to correct within the last two hours of his shift.

The faint whimsical buzz of music was barely noticed as he practically worked on autopilot, exhaustion fogging his ability to think about much except “get home safely, Chanyeol.” Traffic lights turned red and his car halted with them at three different stops, until the last light turned green, tires screeched, the world seemed to flip in slow motion. 

The sound of glass breaking was all he registered before everything went black.

His eyes jolted open but his body could not move. He was standing—no,  _ hovering _ —in a strange room.

“Where am I?”

Chanyeol’s voice echoed off the walls. The room was dark save for the flickering light of a candle in the corner, a shadowed figure hunched by the light.

“Your own head.” The figure responded; Chanyeol couldn't recognize it.

“I'm dreaming?” He inquired. A nod directed his way was the only form of acknowledgement. “So I must be lucid dreaming, then.”

“Not exactly. You're only dreaming because you cannot return to consciousness yet.”

“What?”

From the glimpse of skin he could see in the faint light, he noted the way the stranger’s lips curled upwards into somewhat of a smirk. All it brought was more confusion.

“Don't you feel it, Chanyeol? The pain?” The voice seemingly ricocheted off the walls, hitting Chanyeol hard in the stomach. 

He coughed, then he choked. Looking down, there was blood on his shirt, on his hands—scratches, bruises. A sharpness like that of glass digging in his skin shot through his leg and he shook with an ache so painful it rendered him voiceless.

The figure walked towards him, carrying the candle with it. With every step forward, Chanyeol could feel his heartbeat pounding louder and louder in his ears. 

“You’re dying, Chanyeol.” The stranger spoke and placed the candle down at his feet, ghostly hand reaching out to caress his cheek. “But they will save you.”

“Who?” He was proud of himself for managing to utter the simple word, struggling with keeping his own breathing even. He couldn't feel his legs.

The candle blew out, the figure disappeared, and though his eyes still only registered darkness he could hear it—the distant crying of apologies from voices that sounded far too young, the sirens of emergency vehicles ringing as though they were miles away, the panicked muffled shouts and commands. He could feel their hands lifting his numb and limp body up—whoever  _ they  _ were, they had come to save him.

Just as he was told they would.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The next time Chanyeol’s eyes open they close themselves almost immediately, cursing at the bright light and the throbbing of his head. His palm comes up to cover his eyes—but skin does not make contact with skin; finally forcing his eyes open, brown orbs trace over bandages, slightly bloodied from whatever wounds rest underneath. Gently placing his hand back down, he squints to try and get a good look at his environment, but all he does his make contact with a pair of softer eyes, staring at him with concern etched into brows.

“Mr. Park?” The voice was as soft as the features, dripping like honey—matching the fluffy golden locks that rested atop what Chanyeol felt could be considered a “small” head.

“Who are you?” He almost didn't recognize himself, his voice more of a tired croak—he must not have used it in awhile.

“Pardon me… My name is Byun Baekhyun.” Chanyeol watched as the boy—Baekhyun—tucked his clipboard underneath his arm to give him a full bow. “I'm your nurse, Mr. Park.”

“What happened?” Groaning, he attempted to sit himself upright; the nurse was quick to rush over and help him, frown still prominent on his features. “And— just call me Chanyeol, please?”

“Well, Mr. Pa— ahem, Chanyeol…” Baekhyun stepped back from his side, staring up at the vitals on the screen and writing the numbers down on the clipboard he had freed from its underarm-prison. “Dispatch received a call from a few drunk college students. They admitted their lack of sobriety caused them to run a red light—which is when they collided with your car dead on, I presume. You were found in a pile of glass beside your vehicle.”

“ _ Beside  _ my vehicle? How did I get there?” It was his turn to furrow his brows.

“It was assumed the collision caused you to launch from the car through the window. It's good you did though…” The nurse cleared his throat, rubbing his nape. “It's not  _ good _ per say because you sustained quite a few injuries, however—your car burst into flames shortly after. Had you not been ejected from the vehicle, you wouldn't’ve had any chance to be alive.” 

“I need to call my insurance company, huh…” Chanyeol attempted to joke, scratching at his scalp. It did manage to cause Baekhyun’s expression to soften and his lips to curl slightly upwards, so he felt he was triumphant. “What injuries?”

“You've got several cuts on your arms and hands from landing directly on glass shards, a particularly deep one on your stomach, your left ankle is broken…” Baekhyun listed off the injuries while he fetched some water for his patient, sighing to himself. “You were unconscious for 2 days. I'm glad you woke up while I was checking your vitals. I'm sure after that it would've been horrifying to wake up alone connected to beeping machines—it drives  _ me  _ crazy sometimes and I work with them.”

Chanyeol couldn't help but crack a lopsided toothy grin at the way Baekhyun rambled, moving to take the cup when he returned but quickly being greeted with a shake of the head—the nurse adamantly putting the cup up to his lips for him, not letting him use his hands.

“Your hands still need time before they're better, your stomach was stitched up immediately but it could still take anywhere from six weeks to two months to heal, and your ankle… that'll be the big hurdle.” Baekhyun continued to fill him in on his injuries while he could only gulp the water down. He felt incredibly parched, probably because water hadn't touched his throat since he last had a cup at work two days prior. “It'll take six weeks for the bone to heal, but even after that you'll need to be careful with it and do exercises to help with muscle weakness.”

Once the glass was empty, Baekhyun set it on the side table of the hospital bed, reaching for a thermometer while Chanyeol processed the information. “So I can't… use my hands?”

“No, you can.” The nurse was quick to respond, making sure the thermometer was properly sterilized before turning back towards him. “I’d prefer you give it just one more day though. I'll keep them bandaged until the cuts don't seem to be an issue, but I want you to wait another day before you start trying to hold things. The wounds are still bleeding enough to see through the bandages, I wouldn't want a stall in your recovery even if it is just an extra day of wrapped hands.”

Chanyeol nodded, opening his mouth to let him put the thermometer under his tongue. Once a beep was heard, Baekhyun removed it. Glancing between the device and his patient, the nurse rested his palm against Chanyeol’s forehead.

_ His hands are as soft as he looks.  _ He couldn't help his thoughts, curious eyes tracing over the troubled expression on Baekhyun’s face.

“Is something wrong?”

A shake of the head. “No, your temperature is average, which is good. But… it doesn't match your external feel. It's just… odd to me. It's like you're on fire on the outside but doing just fine internally.”

“Wh—” 

Before Chanyeol could further press the sound of glass shattering in the hallway made him grab Baekhyun’s scrubs, flashbacks of the last moments before the accident replaying in his mind. 

“Fuck—” Chanyeol was knocked out of the panic response when Baekhyun started tugging. His mind almost didn't register what was happening until he caught sight of the flame—Baekhyun’s sleeve was on fire. Quickly letting go, he watched as the nurse pat the fire out, his breathing labored and difficult. He thinks he might be having a panic attack.

Baekhyun could smell ash, see the ends of Chanyeol’s hair eliciting smoke, and watch the tip of his ears grow redder with every second. Realization hit him but before he could explain what was going on, he needed to calm him down. As excited as he was to meet someone like him, his patient was having a panic attack, that was more important.

“Chanyeol, it's okay. It's okay. Someone outside just dropped a plate of food on their way to a patient. You're okay. Can I touch you?” A nod. Baekhyun immediately pulled a chair over and ran his fingers through Chanyeol’s hair. His eyes closed which was a good sign to Baekhyun—positive response.

“I want you to breathe for me. I'm going to count. Breathe in. 2… 3… 4… Hold. 2… 3… 4… Breathe out. 2… 3… 4… Hold. 2… 3… 4… Now repeat, mn?”

Chanyeol did as he was told, following Baekhyun’s breathing until he finally calmed down, resting back down against the pillow since his head had started throbbing again. 

They sat in silence for a moment, Baekhyun giving him more water until he stopped him to speak. “Your scrubs. They caught on fire.”

“Yes.”

“How?”

The smile he was greeted with threw him off a bit, but he assumed whatever Baekhyun had to say was good.

“You have powers.”

Chanyeol almost choked. “What?”

“I know it sounds like I'm messing with you but I'm not. I have them too… not fire, but— here…” Baekhyun walked to the door to flick the lightswitch, successfully turning the room as dark as it could be save for the moonlight leaking in through the windows. 

Returning to Chanyeol’s side, he creates a ball of light in one of his palms, gently bumping it up into the air, bouncing it back and forth between his hands like a child would with a balloon.

“Light.” His deep voice does nothing to mask the awe he feels, eyes trained on the ball. “You control light.”

Baekhyun’s smile is warm, illuminated by the shining object. “Yes.” 

Without warning, Baekhyun snaps and the ball disappears—the hospital lights turning themselves back on without him having to flip the switch himself, leaving Chanyeol even more bewildered.

“I can do that with fire?”

“With some training, maybe. Though if you tried to do what I just did, you'd burn the building down—not turn on the light.” The nurse’s laugh was as bright as his power was, Chanyeol noted, and he couldn't help but laugh too. Everything about happiness with Baekhyun seemed to be contagious.

“And where can I get training?” His head cocked to the side, a toothy grin still prominent on his face.

“I can help you. I trained myself.” Baekhyun hummed, lifting his hand to—quite literally—let light dance on his fingertips. “You're gonna have to wait until you’re all better though—can’t have you stressing yourself out when your body’s still recovering.”

“Trained yourself?!” Chanyeol was more intrigued by that than the rest of what Baekhyun said, but that just made him even more attentive. “That's fine by me. Come to my house, teach me how to be a pyromaniac, that's cool—I wanna hear more about this training thing!”

The nurse obliged, telling him stories of his self-training from the day he found out to modern day over the next week of Chanyeol’s hospital stay. Needless to say, he was more than eager to begin playing with fire.

“I will say one thing, though. Training at your house wouldn’t be a good idea, unless you want your apartment building to be a smoldering pile of ash.”

“Good point.”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“Chanyeol— No, not like that.” Baekhyun adjusted his form for the nth time, helping him make sure his hand wasn’t tensed up. “Focus but not that hard. And remember to breathe—holding your breath won’t help you control.”

The two of them were in an abandoned skatepark. Baekhyun preferred to practice in the woods but considering Chanyeol’s power was fire… well, you can guess the rest. Chanyeol was trying to follow Baekhyun’s advice but watching the boy cradle a ball of light in his hands so effortly was making him feel like he had to try much harder to be just as capable as Baekhyun, even though he knows the only reason he can do it so well is because he had practice. 

“Center your breathing. Have you ever done yoga?” Baekhyun waited for a response, a meek shake of Chanyeol’s head being the answer. “There’s a thing called bringing your hands to heart center.”

Baekhyun closed his eyes, breathing in as his arms swept outwards and up, and breathing out as he brought them into somewhat of a prayer position in the middle of his chest. He repeated this motion a few times, signalling Chanyeol to mimic him. The taller noted that it did in fact seem to center his focus.

“Do I have to do the whole… arm swoopy thing every time—” He asked, toothy grin awkward as he rubbed at his nape, earning laughter from the nurse.

“No, you don’t. It’s just a method to help you at first with setting a pattern. Once you’ve gotten the breathing pattern down, you won’t need your arms, and eventually you’ll be able to calm yourself on command—like I can.”

Chanyeol nodded. The thought of being able to conjure flame like Baekhyun can do with light was enough to make him feel giddy. Doing the pose a few times to center his breathing and focus himself in a calmer way. His hand outstretched and—sure enough—a flame shot out through his palm, colliding with the concrete of the ramp. 

“Good job!” Baekhyun clapped, a proud smile on his lips as he practically bounced in place. “You did it, you made fire!”

Chanyeol fist pumped the air, running around the skatepark in a circle like when a dog gets happy zoomies. The sight made the nurse laugh.

“Alright. Now let’s do that a few more times.”

And so he did, again and again until both were satisfied. Chanyeol was doing well, Baekhyun had high hopes for his capabilities.

Chanyeol decided to take a well deserved break, sweaty and a little winded from the constant use of his pyrotechnics. Baekhyun observed him for a few minutes, letting him get some rest time in and catch his breath.

“I want you to attack me this time.”

Chanyeol nearly spat out his water.

“You what?”

“Come on, you do it to me and I’ll do it back.” The nurse seemed determined, arms crossed against his chest.

But Chanyeol wasn't entirely too swayed. “Why would I  _ willingly  _ set you on fire.” 

“I promise you won't actually hurt me and vice versa. It's good practice.”

“Good practice for what—setting someone on fire?”

He wasn't entirely wrong.

“Listen,” Baekhyun sighed, “There  _ will _ be a time when someone eventually tries to attack you. You need to know how to defend yourself. Not everyone has powers and the fact that you do puts a target on your back.”

“But the only one who knows is you, right?” Chanyeol’s brow quirked upwards. “Unless you told someone about me, I highly doubt I'll have a problem.”

“There are eyes and ears everywhere. Trust me…” The way his shoulders slumped made the fire-bearer a little worried. It seemed Baekhyun had experience with the issues he was trying to prevent.

“So do I just… Attack you?”

“Yes and no. I'm going to run at you, okay? I'm going to run and attempt to dodge everything you throw at me. If an attack does not miss, I promise you will not light me on fire.”

Baekhyun stepped back several feet from him, getting himself into a position with one leg in front of the other, knees bent and ready for him to propel himself forward. “Ready?”

Chanyeol got into his own stance, keeping his eyes trained on the nurse—watching his every move like a hawk. 

“Ready.”

“3… 2… 1…”

The light-wielder bolted and Chanyeol began to throw fireballs in his direction, making sure to run in different directions himself so that Baekhyun would not be able to reach him—what’s the point of learning self defense if he doesn't try to prevent the attacker from potentially reaching him, right? Baekhyun seemed to dodge everything thrown at him with ease; you could tell he'd trained himself well, Chanyeol felt pride swell in his chest—someone with this amount of skill chose to help him do well too, and that would never make him feel anything less than ecstatic.

The nurse seemed to stumble and that’s when Chanyeol caught his chance to launch a ball of fire directly at him, watching Baekhyun’s eyes go wide and at the very last moment a wall of light formed in front of him, the projectile disintegrating upon contact into small sparks. 

Baekhyun fell to his knees after that, Chanyeol immediately rushing over to check up on him—but all he was greeted with was a breathless boy laughing and smiling up at him from the ground.

“You did well. You paid good attention and caught me in a moment of weakness. It helps too that you didn't remain stationary.” He carefully picked himself up off the ground, taking his trainee’s offer of a helping hand to make it easier on his tired legs. “I’m proud of you. All that’s left is practice to make sure your skills only go up from here.”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

It took Chanyeol a month of training to have decent control over his powers. By the end of the month-long journey, he was able to conjure flame on command; Baekhyun eventually set up targets for him to practice aim, as the nurse would tell him constantly “you should always have a goal in mind when using your power.”

Chanyeol admittedly got better at control much faster than Baekhyun did. There was so much more for him to learn to even reach Baekhyun’s level, but the nurse wouldn't be too surprised if it took his trainee less time. To be fair, maybe it was due to the fact the taller was receiving help whereas Baekhyun had to learn and grow on his own.

He found it much more satisfactory that way—how could it not bring a smile to his face and a proud swell in his chest to see that Park Chanyeol’s success was a result of his teachings. The man had learned to shoot sparks from his fingertips 3 times faster than Baekhyun had even managed to create a small beam from his pointer finger.

To celebrate, Baekhyun suggested they go camping. A test of Chanyeol’s skills and, of course, a reward for his hard work. Chanyeol, of course, was elated by the idea.

“You get that side, I’ll get this side. Does that sound good?” The taller man suggested, handing Baekhyun the pieces of the tent structure he needed.

“Aye-aye, Captain Park.” The smaller saluted, beaming in Chanyeol’s general direction before he got to work.

The tent was pitched in about 10 minutes with a few exasperated grunts and aggravated sighs in the process. First things first, they loaded the tent up with their sleeping bags and goodies. Next, Baekhyun set up some wood in the site-provided fire pit for Chanyeol to set alight.

They had had dinner before they left the city, so on the menu for tonight was dessert: S’mores A La Chanyeol.

Pointer finger held near the sticks, a few sparks shot out to start a small flame that with a couple prods turned into a big enough fire to provide both of them a comforting warmth. 

“Got the marshmallows?”

“Right here.” Baekhyun passed him two sticks, each with marshmallows on the ends, before turning to the rest of the supplies. “I’ll set up the graham crackers and chocolate.”

“Sounds good to me.” 

Chanyeol held the marshmallows over the fire until they ignited, letting the outside of the fluffy squares blacken before blowing them out and carefully—with the nurse’s help—placing them on top of the chocolate. The two of them let them sit for a moment to give the bars some time to melt thanks to the marshmallow’s heat before happily digging in to the sweet treats. 

By the end of the night, each of them had consumed at least 5 s’mores—and their faces showed the aftermath of the indulgence. Both laughed at the residue of marshmallow and chocolate that rested on their cheeks, or in Baekhyun’s case the tip of his nose. Wiping down their faces, the duo decided to lay down and stare at the stars in silence until Chanyeol decided to ask Baekhyun a question.

“So… I discovered my power because of a car accident.” He cleared his throat, glancing at the nurse before looking back up at the sky. “How did yours come about?”

“I…don't remember very much of it.” Baekhyun’s voice was a mere whisper.

The moonlight illuminated his face enough for Chanyeol to see a small furrow in his brow—he was thinking, so he’d let him continue when he was ready. It took Baekhyun a few moments to continue.

“All I really remember is going to cross the street one night. I was woozy—my health hadn’t been the greatest, I was sick but I was a stubborn teenager who wanted to study until the words were permanently imprinted in my brain.” He spoke, recounting the night of his own accident. “I remember seeing a bright light. Putting two and two together, I think it was headlights…”

Chanyeol could assume the rest of the story and where it was going, a frown resting on his lips. “You got hit by a car.”

“Yes. I sustained severe injuries to my abdomen and had to have surgery on my jaw. I remember having a weird dream… a voice in my head. And then I woke up and accidentally blinded my nurse.” Baekhyun laughed at himself, the taller of the two joined in with him. “Unlike me with you, though, she didn't have powers herself. She just assumed the lamp was shining directly in her eyes and moved it aside. I had to teach myself the ropes after my recovery.”

“Sounds like you've always been blinding huh.” Chanyeol's head turned toward him to offer a wink, but Baekhyun’s response was a ‘tch’ and an elbow to his side. “Ow!”

“Next I’ll teach you not to be cheesy. I'm your teacher, not your love interest.” Baekhyun snorted.

“What’s wrong with friendly flirting! You never tried to hit on your friends?” Chanyeol snapped back.

The duo bickered under the stars, enjoying themselves with laughter and full bellies. Chanyeol’s initial training was complete.

“Can I ask you another question?” The smile on his lips was slowly fading.

It only made Baekhyun frown in return.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, no. Part of my training was combat and defense… Can I ask why you felt that was necessary? Did something happen?”

“Oh…” To say he hadn’t been waiting for Chanyeol to ask him would be a lie. He’s not exactly good at hiding his curiosity, and he could smell the worry from a mile away when he first asked him to attack him.

“After I had recovered from my accident, I was safe for a few months, but apparently I was under constant surveillance. I think I might still be but there’s been no more incidents recently. I had no friends to tell, I didn't talk to my family… whoever it was had been watching me. I took a shortcut one day after buying groceries and found myself cornered in an alley. I  _ barely  _ escaped—in fact, they managed to get ahold of me because I didn't try to evade anything which is why I praised you for your consistent movement. Of course since my power is light, I used it to momentarily hinder their vision and took that opportunity to run. Since then though I've been on constant guard which is why I felt it necessary to incorporate it into your training.”

“Ah… I figured it had to have been because of personal experience.” Chanyeol’s smile was sheepish, eyes flicking from the stars to the nurse beside him. “Your body language is a dead giveaway.”

“Oh, hush.” He huffed, pinching his cheek. “Anyway, it's my turn to ask  _ you _ a question.”

Now  _ Chanyeol _ was nervous.

“What is it?”

“Park Chanyeol…” Baekhyun shifted to lay on top of him, nose pressed to his. “When will you ask me out?”

“Hmm…” Chanyeol flipped them over, beaming down at Baekhyun with a bright toothy grin. “How about tonight can count as our first date?”

The nurse giggled.

“Sounds good to me.”

Chanyeol’s lips pressed to Baekhyun's, the moon's soft glow illuminating their bodies as the firepit helped keep them warm.

Fire and Light coincide together as one.

  
  



End file.
